Mario Miranda, Goa's Art Maverick

(Picture sourced from here)

Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda. 

Or simply, Mario Miranda. The name brings fond memories of every vacation spent in the place I love- Goa! He created a style of art depicting scenes from routine day-to-day life, with a touch of humour. And this style went on to become so popular, you can find it anywhere (urgh! Plagiarism!), including cute little Azulejo paintings sold at various tourist spots across Goa. The Wikipedia page on him says how he was asked by the then owner of one of South Bombay's iconic cafes, Cafe Mondegar to create something for the bare walls of the eatery. And he created pieces that went on to become very popular. On one side the cartoons depict the essence of Bombay, and on the other side, the scene is typical of that at Mondys'. Everything is summed up in two words, the spirit that makes this great city run, Salaam Bombay!

Equally popular are his lovable cartoons that one can find at many spots of public importance in Goa. Here are some photos I have of his cartoons that adorn the walls at another iconic eatery and one of my most favourite, Martin's Corner. Each time we go to Martin's, I go around looking at these frames, and I'm never bored. Their presence adds to the charm of the place, and the food somehow tastes extra tasty! Strange, ain't it?

The attention to detail is mind-boggling. Have a closer look at any of the pictures here. Every individual be it a human or an animal- has a characteristic expression; every component tells a story. There's a crab snapping at someone's nose. There's a cat smiling at a fish, who's smiling back. And the dog is a trademark, he is everywhere!

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see my home page with beautiful art work that seemed so familiar. It is just befitting that Google decided to dedicate a doodle to this wonderful artist on his 90th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mr. Miranda!